Freckles
by Elm Treetree
Summary: So I was bored and this came out, I guess. Dean and Sam are on a hunt and Cas pops in. Set somewhere in between 7.21 and 7.23. This was posted a while ago, but I accidentally deleted it so I'm reuploading it.


Freckles

"So it looks like we're dealing with an Empusa," Sam announced from behind his laptop. "There's a lot of Greek lore on them, apparently by day she appears as a human woman—"

"Hot?"

"And once they've convinced a man to follow them, they show their true form. They each have one donkey leg, and one made of brass."

"Okay, not so hot." Dean straightened up from the mini refrigerator with a can of beer in his hand. "So how do we kill it?"

"That's the thing. There's not much about how to kill them. A few theories here and there, but no real information. Some think that they're just really angry spirits, so maybe if we find the original remains…?"

"Well that's something." Dean took a sip of his beer. "Any idea who it might—" He paused mid-sentence after a flutter of wings could be heard behind him.

"Cas. Hey. What's up?" Turning around, he saw that the angel was in his hospital clothes. He'd almost forgotten for a second that things weren't like they used to be between them. Dean cleared his throat. "Cas, what are you doing here? Meg's probably noticed you're gone. You should… you should go back there, now's not really a good time. Unless it's important?"

The angel stared at him silently.

"Are you planning on saying anything or have you just come to look? I mean, that's not exactly an unpleasant activity I'm sure," Dean said with a smirk, raising his eyebrows, "but really, what's going on?"

Another long silence. Cas's eyes seemed to be frantically scanning Dean's face.

"All right, Cas—"

"363," Castiel blurted out. "Yes, 363, that seems right," he concluded.

"I'm sorry?" Dean looked at him as if he was crazy. Then again…

"363. Counting the one by your left eye, though it _is_ slightly darker than the rest so maybe it shouldn't be—" Cas muttered to himself.

"Okay, I'm really not following," Sam said from behind. Dean had nearly forgotten he was even in the room.

Cas focused his attention on the younger Winchester. "Freckles. There are exactly 363 freckles on Dean's face. I was thinking about it this afternoon in the garden since the speckles on one of the flowers reminded me of them, and I realized that last time I counted there were only 342 but the sun must have caused a few more to show up since our last meeting so I decided to recount and I came here and as it turns out I was right since he's gained 21 since I last saw him." He took a breath. Dean was staring at him peculiarly.

"You… you counted the freckles on my face. Just now. All of them." He was a little impressed, to be perfectly honest.

"Yes," he squinted as he tilted his head to the side, apparently confused by Dean's reaction, "yes, of course I know how many freckles you have. I pieced you back together. And as an angel it's easier to see changes in people, so I noticed that you had gained a certain number and added them, though of course I had to count again each time I saw you just in case I miscalculated. Anyway I must leave now. It's nearly time to water the Zinnias, as I've found that the bees are quite partial to those and if I didn't water them they could die, of course in which case I'd bring them back to life but that might scare the bees off for a few days." He looked genuinely concerned about the bees. "Good bye Dean, Sam." And with that, he vanished.

The brothers exchanged glances. Then Sam reopened the laptop and went back to his research, while Dean resumed sipping his beer and occasionally contributing to the conversation. As much as he wanted to pretend these spontaneous visits from Cas were just annoying, there was a part of him that enjoyed seeing the angel again, even after all that had happened. And the freckles… had they really spent that much time staring at each other over the past few years? He shook off the thought. Keep going, and don't let anything else get in the way. That was his motto, and he would stick by it… most of the time.


End file.
